Bethel Park’s offense plays keep away in win over No. 1 Upper St. Clair
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Friday, October 7, 2022 | 11:27 PM
Bethel Park’s Ryan Petras celebrates his first touchdown with Aidan Currie during their game against Upper St. Clair on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, at Upper St. Clair High School.
Bethel Park center Logan Pettigrew (left) celebrates with quarterback Tanner Pfeuffer after defeating Upper St. Clair, 27-14, on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, at Upper St. Clair High School.
Bethel Park quarterback Tanner Pfeuffer scores against Upper St. Clair on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, at Upper St. Clair High School.
Bethel Park’s Austin Caye (24) carries against Upper St. Clair’s Aidan Conn on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, at Upper St. Clair High School.
Bethel Park’s Gavin Moul catches a long pass in front of Upper St. Clair’s Ivory Travers during their game on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, at Upper St. Clair High School.
Bethel Park’s Braedon Del Duca celebrates after stopping Upper St. Clair on fourth down during the fourth quarter on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, at Upper St. Clair High School.
Bethel Park’s Austin Caye (24) takes a hand-off from Tanner Pfeuffer during their game against Upper St. Clair on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, at Upper St. Clair High School.
Bethel Park’s Aidan Currie eludes Upper St. Clair’s Aidan Conn for a long gain during the fourth quarter of their game on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, at Upper St. Clair High School.
Bethel Park’s Austin Caye (24) celebrates his touchdown with Aidan Currie during their game against Upper St. Clair on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, at Upper St. Clair High School.
Bethel Park’s Ryan Petras (1) celebrates his fourth quarter interception with Tyler Stewar (13) and Jeremiah Hamilton during their game against Upper St. Clair on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, at Upper St. Clair High School.
Bethel Park’s Ryan Petras (left) celebrates his second touchdown against Upper St. Clair on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, at Upper St. Clair High School.
The Bethel Park student section cheers on the Black Hawks during their game against Upper St. Clair on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, at Upper St. Clair High School.
Bethel Park’s Gavin Moul (left) celebrates his long reception with Ryan Petras during their game against Upper St. Clair on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, at Upper St. Clair High School.
Bethel Park quarterback Tanner Pfeuffer celebrates his touchdown against Upper St. Clair on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, at Upper St. Clair High School.
Bethel Park’s Ryan Petras (1) celebrates his fourth quarter interception with Tyler Stewart during their game against Upper St. Clair on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, at Upper St. Clair High School.
Bethel Park quarterback Tanner Pfeuffer celebrates his touchdown against Upper St. Clair on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, at Upper St. Clair High School.
Bethel Park’s Austin Caye (24) carries against Upper St. Clair on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, at Upper St. Clair High School.
Bethel Park’s Austin Caye carries past Upper St. Clair’s Ty Lagoni on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, at Upper St. Clair High School.
The Upper St. Clair football team takes the field before their game against Bethel Park on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, at Upper St. Clair High School.
“The most average line you’ve ever seen.”
Bethel Park center Logan Pettigrew heard that description about his offensive line earlier this season and it still makes him laugh. Individually, there are no monster-sized blockers on the Black Hawks’ line, but the unsung and undersized group can be scary together.
Upper St. Clair saw that Friday night.
No. 2 Bethel Park controlled the line of scrimmage and ate minutes off the clock with a dominant running game as the Black Hawks defeated No. 1 Upper St. Clair, 27-14, to take over first place in the Allegheny Six.
“Two-hundred-and-fifty-seven rushing yards,” Pettigrew said. “That’s fun.”
Bethel Park (6-1, 2-0) won time of possession by a 2-to-1 margin, and USC’s offense ran just 12 plays in the second half.
Senior running back Austin Caye led Bethel Park with 180 rushing yards and a touchdown on 37 carries. As a team, the Black Hawks ran the ball 58 times.
“They really controlled the line of scrimmage and put us on our heels defensively,” USC coach Mike Junko said. “They got up on us and made us chase.”
Top-ranked Upper St. Clair (6-1, 2-1) never led.
Bethel Park scored on its first three possessions. Touchdowns run by Ryan Petras (6 yards) and Tanner Pfeuffer (2 yards) gave the Black Hawks a 13-0 lead. Caye added a 3-yarder in the second quarter for a 20-7 lead.
Pfeuffer and Petras later connected for a 33-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.
Bethel Park’s offense put together three long possessions of 11 plays or more, including a 16-play drive in the third quarter that consumed nearly nine minutes. Only one reached the end zone, but they succeeded in keeping USC’s offense on the sideline.
In the second half, Bethel Park held possession for nearly 21 of 24 minutes.
“Every week, people doubt our offensive line,” said Bethel Park coach Brian DeLallo, pointing out how he’s received calls from some opposing coaches the day after games.
“One who shall remain nameless said, ‘Your offensive line looks like a JV team and they kicked our (butts).’ Coming from another head coach, that’s very complimentary.”
The line includes four seniors and one junior but none is taller than 6-foot-2. Pettigrew (5-11, 215) is flanked by Braedon De Duca (6-2, 250), Sam Schiullo (6-1, 210), Tobias D’Andrea (6-0, 220), Jacob Brown (5-11, 265) and tight end Aidan Currie (6-2, 215).
“We’re not the biggest group,” DeLallo said, “but we’re very senior heavy. They know what they’re doing. They have fantastic coaches. I’ll go to war with my two offensive line coaches any day.”
Bethel Park scored on its first two possessions by running 11 times and throwing only one pass. Petras capped an eight-play, 70-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown run. On the second possession, the Black Hawks moved 65 yards in four plays, leading to a 2-yard touchdown run by Pfeuffer.
Pfeuffer went 6 of 7 passing for 125 yards and a touchdown.
Overall, Bethel Park finished with 33 minutes of possession, compared to 15 for USC.
Trailing 13-0, USC quarterback Julian Dahlem connected down field with receiver Aidan Besselman for a 53-yard touchdown late in the first quarter.
Bethel Park answered with a 12-play, 65-yard touchdown drive, ending with Caye’s 3-yard run to lead 20-7. The drive consumed more than six minutes.
Dahlem threw his second touchdown pass, a 20-yarder to Cody Marn, just before halftime to trail 20-13. Dahlem completed 4 of 13 passes for 109 yards and two first-half touchdowns. He was intercepted once and lost a fumble on USC’s first possession when Bethel Park’s Gavin Moul sacked him.
The Panthers were 1 for 6 passing in the second half.
“We couldn’t get into a rhythm offensively because you’re spending a lot of time on the sidelines,” Junko said. “It’s one of those nights where you’ve got to be almost perfect offensively because they just chewed up a ton of clock.”
Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.
Tags: Bethel Park, Upper St. Clair
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